UT Dallas or A&M for Investment Banking
I am currently a High school senior looking for advice on whether I should go to Texas A&M University or UT Dallas to get an IB job. They both seem like very decent business schools but I don't really know which one to choose from. My current plan is to attend one of these colleges and transfer to UT Mccombs as my cousin did, but if I don't get in I would want to have a backup plan, and these two schools seem to be my options.
A&M will give you a much better chance.
I don't attend, but I believe placement overall from A&M is pretty bad from what friends say. They mention however some very selective clubs that are feeders into banking programs, so if you join one of those you're in a very strong position.
A&M literally no chance at UTD (coming from former UT Austin student in banking)
Both will be virtually impossible unless you’re diversity, but A&M will give you a better chance and likely has a better alumni base given its massive size and closer proximity to Houston.
A&M places ~15 kids per year. Up until a couple years ago it was more in the ~7-10 range and all in Houston, but now a few a year seem to be heading to NY.
A&M can get you into banking in Houston and is the clear undisputed choice. Breaking into a reputable bank from UTD is nearly impossible
A&M and do Horizons - places extremely well into Houston.
TAMU is the winner here by far. They have a track called 'Aggies on Wall Street' that has decent placement. Also join Horizons. They send around 15 kids to Houston and a few to NYC every year. The number has increased a lot in the past couple of years as well. McCombs definitely has better placement than TAMU, but I would put TAMU as #2 for placement into Houston. One thing to note- most people at TAMU either have never heard of banking or don't want anything to do with it due to the hours, which I think is a big reason for lower placement (not discounting UT as it definitely has better placement, but I think the culture is definitely a factor). I don't know of anyone at TAMU who wanted banking and wasn't able to break in (they might've had to settle for Houston vs NYC, but most at TAMU want Houston anyway).
Rice > SMU > TAMU
I generally agree. I feel like I see way more Rice MBAs than ugrads though. For SMU I would say they have much better placement into NYC compared to TAMU (by a longshot), but for most banks in Houston I think TAMU does just as well as them.
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I know a few UTD students and am extremely familiar with the university - do not go to this school if you want to break into banking. The business school is extremely weak in finance and almost nobody breaks into investment banking. Career services are very unhelpful and you would be infinitely better off going to A&M.
Went to SMU and spent some time in the Dallas IB market (which is small) and explored opportunities in Houston. Definitely go with A&M. You'll at least get a shot at Houston IB from there. Literally never came across UTD people in Dallas or Houston for banking
Some of the A&M placement for class of 2021 that I know of: Evercore, Barclays, RBC and Centerview NYC
Some of the UTD placement for class of 2021 that I know of: Absolutely none
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